* "Niko, my cousin!" *hugs* Even though he's drunk at the time, Roman's joy at having cousin Niko in [[CrapsackWorld Liberty City]] is a pretty good moment to make you smile.** Roman comforting Niko after [[spoiler: Niko kills or [[CruelMercy spares]] Darko Brevic]].** Roman is just [[TheWoobie The Woobie.]] Since Niko's arrival, he'd been stabbed, kidnapped, shot, tied up, beaten, [[spoiler: had his apartment and taxi company (that also contained the ring he was going to propose to Mallorie with) burnt down]] and [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking had his computer broken]] but never, ever lost faith in his cousin. * The stranger quests, showing a lighter side to Niko (sometimes) involving rescuing a failing rapper being harassed by thugs, giving money to a drug-addled prostitute and taking her home, helping a recently divorced woman, stopping Anna Faustin's (Mikhail's daughter from way back at the beginning) new boyfriend from turning her into a whore, helping [[spoiler: Ivan and Cherise, if you let them live]], paying off some debts with newly reformed ex-drunkard Mel and getting old friend Hossan's money back from an employer.** More needs to be said about Marnie (the drug-addled prostitute). In her second mission you take her to the train station and give her some money for her journey home. Afterwards you get an email from her, telling you just how much you've changed her life. In a game where nearly everyone you meet you kill and end up in a little better situation then you left, it's one of the few genuinely bright spots.* Despite [[spoiler: Kate getting killed in the "Revenge" ending, one of the phone calls that Niko receives during the end credits is from Roman, who says that Mallorie, his wife, is pregnant, and if it's a girl, they'll name her Kate. Happily contrasted with the "Deal" ending, where not only does Roman die, leaving Mallorie a child without a father to raise, but Kate breaks up with Niko for being a greedy jerkass.]]* Out of all the [[NarrativeFiligree snippets of dialogue]] that accompany the [[ScrappyMechanic much-maligned Friendship Activities]], one really stands out as the most heartwarming of them all: After several friendship activities (and subsequent conversations) wherein they criticize each other's lifestyles, [[TheGamblingAddict Roman]] and [[ProfessionalKiller Niko]] finally tell each other of how much they respect the other. Niko admits that he admires Roman for being so [[WideEyedIdealist optimistic]] even in the darkest of circumstances, while Roman praises Niko for his [[EvenEvilHasStandards integrity and firmness in his beliefs]], and they conclude with both of them wishing they could be like the other. It's one of the few moments in the game that unquestionably succeed at [[HitmanWithAHeart humanizing Niko]].* Bernie Crane's whole character is heartwarming when you think about it: he's seen all the horrors that Niko has, yet he managed to move on and live a very happy life. He managed to start over and move on from the past, something Niko could never do, sadly. That Niko accepts his old friend's lifestyle without judgment fairly quickly is touching, as well. In fact, the mission where you give a homophobic bully the beatdown he deserves for Bernie can be a crowning moment of awesome, heartwarming and funny all rolled into one.* The mission where [[spoiler: Nico rescues Roman from kidnappers]] doubles as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Niko completely LOSES it during the mission and his normally stoic demeanor is completely dropped for a combination of rage and panic. The visible sense of relief he has at the end makes it all the more worth it.